Down the Chute
by GreenGirl111
Summary: When Gabe is released, he is sent down a chute and into Wonderland, where he is needed to help Alice on her dangerous quest.
1. Chapter 1

The Nurturer walks into the familiar small windowless room, gazing around at the furniture, which consists of only a bed, a table with all of his tools, and a cupboard. He

always wishes for the room to be a little less gloomy. He wants the young children to enjoy their last moments in the community.

"Sorry I have to do this to you, buddy," says the Nurturer as he holds up the needle before Gabe. "We gave you an extra year, but it didn't work out. At least you get to

have the injection in your arm."

Gabe lets out a cry as the needle slides into his arm. Soon, he goes limp. "So long, Gabe," says the Nurturer as he carefully puts Gabe in a box, then tosses him down the

chute. Just as Gabe disappears down the chute, a male youth of about 13 runs in through the door.

"Dad, no! Don't kill Gabe!"

"Jonas, you're not supposed to be here! And anyway, it's too late. He's gone."

_How silly they both are, _thinks the chief elder, smirking. _The new Receiver has a lot to learn. Little do they know that the injection is not at all lethal, and that the "Garbage Chute" _

_leads __to Wonderland._

_Bump! Slide! Crash! Whoosh! _This is what is going through Gabe's head as he goes tumbling down the long and winding chute to Wonderland. _A group of strange and _

_wonderful __people and creatures are gathered in front of __him._

_"Welcome Gabe!" they say, smiling, in unison. "We've been waiting for you..."_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer which I'm not sure whether I'm supposed to do or not: I don't own any of the things that I have mentioned in any of my storied.**

**Sorry for all the short chapters!**

**

* * *

**

**(POV of caterpillar Absalom)**

_It's a slow day today._ The thought rolls through my caterpillar head as I lie on my leaf, blowing my pipe. _Nothing but me, my thoughts, and my smoke. No infants to distract...oh,_

never mind! I curse, as I hear the sound of an unconscious baby rolling down that cursed chute and into my beautiful home. _And I thought I was having the whole week off._

_Wow,this is a big one. It's old, too! _I sigh as I inch over to examine it. It has golden blond locks and beautiful blue eyes. _That will soon change as it adjusts to the strange climate_

of Wonderland. Sure enough, it's hair is already changing from blond to pale green, and it's eyes go from blue to light purple. The magical atmosphere is said to be the most

likely cause of the change undergone by the infants.

"Cheshire Cat!" I holler, "Get over here! Another baby. A...boy! Get him to Alice at the School of Wonderland!"

"Yes, sirrrrrr," purrs a voice from thin air. A pink and purple cat grinning literally from ear to ear appears. "Alice will be delighted. And don't forrrrget, you have a class with some

childrrrrrrren overrrr the vowels in a few hourrrrrs!"

"Oh, yes..." I frown, watching my beautiful free day disappear.


	3. Chapter 3

Please Review!

* * *

**POV of Jubjub**

"I can't believe we have to learn why a raven is like a writing desk AGAIN!" I fume, as Mr. Hatter explains the complex simile.

"You know how we must humor Mr. Hatter. He's not quite right," reasons Tumtum the optimistic one, her hot pink hair flashing in the sun along with her warm, yellow eyes.

I'd always envied her beautiful hair, while my hair was a boring turquoise. However, my silver eyes go well with my hair, or so my friends say.

"No, I agree with Jubjub," rages Bander, ever the angry one. His red hair and golden eyes intensified this impression. "This is a waste of time! We could be learning with

Alice..."

"Oh we all know how you feel about Alice!" jokes Frabjous, our cheerful friend. With his neon green eyes and hair, he practically glows with happiness. "You can't keep your

eyes off her!"

"Oh, shut up!" muttered Bander, his cheeks turning purple in embarrassment.

"Guys, look at the new baby. Gosh, he's a big one. Seems older than usual." I murmur, "Oh, poor Cheshire Cat! Those toddlers are pulling at his tail again!" As we're

giggling hysterically in the background, we hear Alice in the distance showing off the new boy.

"Yes!" shouts Frabjous, "My turn to name the baby!" All the children who have spent 14 or more years (5096 un-birthdays) in Wonderland get to take turns naming the new

babies that arrive in Wonderland. This was Frabjous' and my first year, and Bander and Tumtums' second that we could start naming the newcomers.

"So...," mutters Alice, her yellow hair spilling down her shoulders and her blue eyes glistening, "It is Frabjous' turn, so what should the name be of this young boy,

Frabjous?"

"Callooh!" He shouts at the top of his lungs.

"Callooh!" We all shout in reply.

The baby opens his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Once the baby has been named, we get back to class. In The School of Wonderland, we learn everything there is to know about anything. Alice says we learn in order to prepare for The Test, which comes when we reach 18 years (6552 un-birthdays). None of us know what The Test consists of, but we do know that it's of the utmost importance. We go to school from the moment we arrive in Wonderland to the moment we turn 18. This means that we have classmates of all different ages. Callooh is around the same age as Burble, who has baby blue hair and pink eyes. Tulgey is around 4, and so is Uffish and Snicker-Snack (Snacky, for short). Brillig has dark purple hair with red highlights, and yellowish-orange eyes. Even though she is only nine, she can scare the living cat out of anyone. Gyre and Gimble are 11 year old twin brother and sister, with identical short purple hair and magenta eyes. Mimsy is the beauty queen of our class, with her hot pink hair with gold and purple streaks, and her wide, gold-flecked-with-purple eyes. Even at age 12, all the boys her age, Mome and Manxome, are crazy about her. Then lastly, after me and my friends of course, there is Vorpal, age 17. Something about him makes me and my friends, except Tumtum, who likes everyone, nervous. It could be his black hair and black eyes, with a red pupil, or it could be the fact that he constantly disappears, and whenever he leaves, Alice does too.

In the School of Wonderland, we are taught by many people and creatures. The main teacher is Alice, and all the other teachers follow her. Everyone in Wonderland loves Alice. The younger children have Absalom, Tweedle Dee, Tweedle Dum, the white rabbit, Humpty Dumpty, and Alice as their teachers. The older children get The Mad Hatter, the queen and king, and Alice. All children over the age of 10 are in the older group, and we are the ones who are shown all of Wonderland. Each day we have a new adventure. Except today, which is the one day every week where we are stuck with the Mr. Hatter, the teacher who leads the half birthday sing along, and enforces that we all attend tea.

"Lunch!" calls Alice. "Come get it or we'll feed it to Jabberwocky!"

Jabberwocky is the class pet. Alice told us that there used to be a _real_ Jabberwocky, but that he was slain long ago. She says that we are all named from a poem about the legendary beast. Our Jabberwocky is just a plain baby Mock Turtle. Boring, I know. But he eats _a lot_! We are all rushing to the table, so that we can get the best part of the meal, which is the mushrooms. The flavor isn't great, but everyone loves the sensation of growing to be 50 feet tall. Today, Bander gets it, but he doesn't eat it fast enough, so Brillig snatches it before he can do more than lick it. Bander doesn't dare try to get it from Brillig, even though he's 6 years older than her. That girl is fierce! Once we've all eaten, we turn to Alice for her daily announcement. Today, from the look on her face, it's going to be very important.

"Last night," she declares, with a fire in her eyes, "I had a dream." We all gasp. Alice has a gift. She can dream about the future. She doesn't dream often, but when she does, it's crucial.  
"Now I'm not going to tell you what my dream was about, not yet anyway. But because of this dream, I have decided that I am going to eliminate The Test."

"But why?" we shout and complain, except Vorpal, who seems bored.

"Because I've decided that the whole school is ready for 'The Quest.'"

"What's The Quest?" asked Bander, smoothing his hair back nervously, looking at Alice.

"The Quest is what you go on when you turn 18. There isn't really a test, it's a quest. In this quest you must try to find a way out of Wonderland."

"There is no way out of Wonderland." argues Vorpal, to everyone's surprise. "I've tried everything."

"Why would you want to leave wonderland?" asks Mimsy, looking thoroughly confused.

"Because this is not where we belong." answers Mr. Hatter. "No human is meant to live here. It changes you. When you get older, you go mad. That's what happened to me."

"If we leave we could reverse the affect and rejoin our real families, who most of you don't even know. The world above is a land of safety and security. A place where you can grow old in peace, without the fear of madness. Wonderland makes humans sick, and I want to go home to my family and my cat." Alice chokes out this last bit, looking sadder than we've ever seen her.

"We'll find a way out." says Brillig. "I never fail."

"We won't fail." agrees Alice, pulling herself together, "Because we have Callooh."


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Giver or anything related to Alice in Wonderland and the jabberwocky poem.**

**Sorry about the extreme shortness of this chapter. Please Review!**

* * *

"In my dream, all of us were led to freedom by Callooh. I know we can do this, if we all work together."  
"What about Absalom and the queen and all our other teachers." Asks Tumtum. "Will they come too?"  
"Of course they will. We all belong in the upper world. We've all been changed from being down here. Your hair and eyes will changed back to their normal colors. Rabbits can't talk in the upper world, so Mr. Rabbit's thoughts will finally leave him at peace. No longer will he worry about the time. Absalom will be human again. We're all going home."  
"When are we leaving?" whimpers Mimsy.  
"Now."  
"Where do we go?" I ask.  
"Deeper into the forest than anyone has ever gone."


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own any parts of my story :(

I'd like to dedicate the next couple chapters to Pudge. Happy Birthday! So, in her honor, please review!

* * *

Alice has always told us that we should never go past the river. The river marked the line of safety. Past there, there were dark and dangerous creatures that no one had ever seen, or even named. The

Jabberwocky was like a mock turtle compared to the evil creatures who lived there. As we draw nearer and nearer to the river, we grow more and more nervous. Tumtum, Bander, Frabjous, and I are in charge of

Burble, Tulgey, Uffish, and Snacky. Callooh, who keeps shouting "Gay" stubbornly whenever we said his name, was being carried by Alice. Vorpal stays in the back of the group, looking bored as usual. Even

Frabjous isn't being cheerful.

My friends and I mutter nervously to each other, until we reach the river. The only way across seems to be by walking over a thin piece of string stretched over the "water." Swimming or a boat is not an

option, because the river is of blood, with severed heads floating in the middle. Vorpal has no problem with the situation. He hops across the string that looks like it could break at any moment and taps his foot

impatiently while he waits for us to cross.

"Come along children." calls Alice cheerfully. "It's not so bad!"

"Then you cross it." muttered Mome under his breath. Alice hears him, and putting down Callooh, begins to cross the river. She is does not run across like Vorpal: She steps carefully and purposefully, and after

what seems like years, is across."

"How do we get the young children across?" calls out Tumtum, "Should someone carry them?"

"No, silly, that would break the string." laughs Alice. "They'll just cross by themselves!"

"But how can they...oh dear!" cries Gimble, as she and her twin try to grab Callooh. But it's too late, he's already on the thin string. He crawls across it, and babbles happily as he does. Soon, he reaches the other

end, where Alice scoops him up.

"See, if he can do it, you can!"

The rest of us slowly inch our way across the "bridge." First we send off Burble, who seems to have taken a liking to Callooh. Next we send Tulgey, Uffish, and Snacky. Brillig practically leaps across the bridge and is

at the other side in a matter of seconds. We then let the teachers cross, none of whom have any troubles. Gyre manages to coax Gimble over, but Mimsy refuses to go. We all beg her, but she even says no to

Alice.

"I won't do it!" She screams. "It's not safe!" She goes on like this for a few minutes, until Bander gets so angry that he pushes her. She falls face-first into the river of blood. She manages to grab onto the string

and somehow pulls herself onto it with a strength none of us thought she had. She reaches the other side, sobbing and dripping with blood. The rest of us get across okay, but Mimsy is a wreck. When Alice has

cleaned her of all the blood, Mimsy reluctantly agrees to continue on, on a journey that has only just begun.


	7. Chapter 7

PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

We continue along, very cautiously, through the dark and deep jungle. Vorpal takes the lead at first, saying that he knows the way. After a few days he falls behind, saying that he never continued this far. The group

is scared, but cheerful. Tumtum manages to convince everyone that things will be all right. She has that affect on people. Even Mimsy cheers up, once Mome and Manxome take it upon themselves to carry her. Burble

and Callooh have been hand in hand since they crossed the river, and they babble their baby talk all day long. Then, the first beast comes.

"Come, friends," we here off in the distance, the dozens of melodious voices urging them towards the swamp, "We've been waiting. We'll help you." They start singing a beautiful song, that shows me all my hopes and dreams coming true.

"Coming, mother," murmurs Alice, turning towards the dark swamp. "Come along, children."

We all follow her, convinced by the strange people that this is the right way to go. Not even the twisty thorny vines and the bloody human skeleton can keep us away. Deep down I know something is wrong, but

their voices are so enchanting and magical, I can't imagine what. We see the beautiful people in the distance. They're dancing and singing, their long rainbow hair flowing down their backs, their smiles wide. Only

their eyes seem off, a strange glint, or flicker perhaps. But it matters not, for I run towards them, as does everyone else, with Gyre in the lead. Suddenly, Callooh starts screaming. The mirage is broken as the people

disappear, and in their place appears a black monster, big enough to swallow a jabberwocky whole, with long silver fangs, dripping with the blood of Gyre, who had run the fastest of all. Out of nowhere, a rock comes

soaring through the sky, and hits this creature right between the eyes. It's Brillig, who rushed forward and drags Gyre's body away from the monster before it can right itself and sort out what happened. But it's too late for Gyre, he's already dead.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry for the short chapter. PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

We all grieve over the loss of Gyre, especially Gimble. She closes his magenta eyes, brushes his hair, and cleans up his mangled body. She then buries him, by herself. None of us can watch, because the heap of blood and gore that used to be Gyre is simply to nauseating and depressing.  
"I'm not leaving." she announces after the burial.

"Why not?" asks a very sad Alice. "We know you miss Gyre, but the beast lives. If it were not for Gabe's incessant screaming we'd be lured back to the creature's cave even now!"

"I can't leave my brother." Gimble replies, as if this were obvious. "He needs me now."

"But he's..."

"Shhh!" Alice warns, "We can't help her now."

"But she'll be ripped to shreds!" We see Gimble talking to thin air as if it's a human.

"She's already dead." Alice explains. "See for yourself." And we turn to see Gimble disappearing into thin air. It's like she and her brother couldn't stand to be apart. She's gone. We hear two alike voices, far away, laughing, together. We continue on.


	9. Chapter 9

We are all in a gloomy mood after the loss of Gyre and Gimble from our party. We all hover protectively over Callooh and, in the process, Burble, who has not left his side. After several days, we are too exhausted to continue, so we set up camp. Frabjous, Bander, Tumtum, and I volunteer to search for food and scout out the area.

"I wish we'd stayed home instead of coming on this dumb journey!" mumbles Frabjous, who has been anything but frabjous lately.

"Once we find the way to the upper world things will be better than ever!" smiles Tumtum confidently. I groan in disagreement.

"If Alice thinks we should continue, we should continue." argues Bander. "She knows what to do!"

"We all know how you feel about Alice!" I joke. This causes everyone to laugh, and for a moment, it feels just like old times. Even Frabjous smiles.

"What's that in the distance?" I ask. "It almost looks like a village...it is!"

"We need to get Callooh to scout it out." says Bander. We agree and all hurry back with the news.


	10. Chapter 10

Try and guess the new person's name :)

* * *

The whole group slowly heads towards the small village, with Callooh in the lead. When he does not bawl when we get near the village, we realize it's safe. Mimsy orders Mome and Manxome to run her to the head of the group, right behind Alice. The rest of us slowly move straight to the biggest home in the village, assuming the person who is in charge lives there. We knock on the door. A voice from behind the house calls to us. When we go to the other side, we gasp in shock. The most beautiful garden any of use have ever seen is right before our eyes. The flowers are the brightest shades imaginable, the prettiest shapes, and they are all around us. Thousands of butterflies flutter around the garden, spreading pollen from one flower to the next. Most of the butterflies, however, are around a pretty young woman with lavender hair and midnight blue, sparkling eyes. They encircle her, making the air sparkle with the flaps of their wings. On each of her finders stands a butterfly, and lying like a clip in her hair is an enormous butterfly that seems to reflect the colors of the other butterflies off of it.  
"Come join us for tea!" she calls to us, smiling widely. So we did. And we stayed for a year.


	11. Chapter 11

Happy Birthday Pudge!

* * *

"Lunchtime!" Pudge calls, "Come get it while it's nice and hot!" All of us run from the garden and onto the patio, to eat whatever Pudge made us. Frabjous, Bander, and I are having a blast, Mimsy is making out with

Manxome, while Mome watches jealously, Tumtum is dancing in the flowers with Callooh and Burbles while Vorpal spies on her from behind tree. Tulgey, Uffish, Snacky, and Brillig are attempting to knock down a nest of stinging bugs. The "teachers" are conversing in the shade. But we all drop what we're doing when Pudge calls out lunch. Pudge is the head of the village. She also is the one who keeps the garden looking its best. We all used to joke about how the queen of the butterflies is named Pudge, but we got used to it. The village is relatively small, with only Pudge, her sister Cinnamon, her pet butterfly sparkles, and about ten others. Pudge takes care of us all.

"Attention!" calls out Alice, "I have an announcement involving my group! I have decided that today is the day that we shall finally leave Pudge's garden and continue deeper into the forest on our journey to the upper world!" A stunned silence follows this.

"But all of us are happy!" argues Tumtum, "We don't want to leave anymore!"

"But we must!" Alice shouts, "Wouldn't you rather live where you belong?"

"I want you all to stay with me." argues Pudge. "Don't you like it here? With me?"

"Perhaps some of us will choose to stay, and some will choose to go." suggests Vorpal.

"All who wish to continue to the upper world to a land of wonders, come over to me, all who wish to remain and rot away in this garden, over there." says Alice. No one joins Alice.

"Please? For me!" Alice says with tears in her beautiful blue eyes, "The upper world is even nicer than this!" Slowly, Bander moves over to Alice. Vorpal soon follows. Brillig, Frabjous, Tulgey, Uffish, Snacky, Mom, Callooh, all the teachers except Absalom, and I cross over to Alice. The only ones left who want to remain are Absalom, Burbles, Mimsy, Manxome, and Tumtum.

"Absalom, are you sure? If you came back with us you could turn into your human form again." says Alice, with sadness in her eyes.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm rather fond of flowers."

"Bye-bye!" cries Callooh as he waves farewell to Burbles, his favorite companion.

"Tumtum." I whisper, "Are you coming?"

"No." she says, her eyes shining with joy, "This is where I belong."  
And for all I know, Absalom is still watching Mimsy kiss Manxome, and Tumtum dance in the flowers with Burbles, her long pink hair flowing in the breeze, and Burbles laughing with delight.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Alice in Wonderland 2010 or The Giver

Sorry for not updating, to the two of you reading this story! I'd like to thank Pudge for helping me get started again, too. PLEASE REVIEW!

* * *

All of us are feeling the weight of the loss of much of our group. We've barely spoken, and many of us send spiteful glares in the direction of Alice, who got us into this mess. Even the white rabbit has started walking slowly, dragging his feet, as supposed to hopping. Callooh is constantly whimpering now, because of the loss of Burble, so we don't know whether a monster is near or not. His purple eyes are constantly filled with tears. So when he started crying this morning, we took little heed.

"Shut it, you stupid baby!" Brillig shouts. Callooh continues to cry, of course. We approach a stream, which is good, because we'd been running out of water. The stream has water so clear and smooth, it looks almost blue. There is an almost lilac fog floating over it. As we draw nearer, Callooh cries louder and louder.

"Maybe the water isn't safe to drink..." Alice murmurs. But at that point, the fog from the river starts to drift towards us. Snacky is the first to start laughing. It starts as just a giggle, but soon he's rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically. Next goes Frabjous. Pretty soon we're all laughing. We can't stop. I try to stop and breath, but can't. I don't know why I'm laughing. I start crying at the same time. All of a sudden, it stops. But then I start being dragged. Towards the river.

"Help!" I scream. "I can't stop!" But it's not just me. We're all being forced to the river. And the river transforms. It lifts off the ground, then curls upwards. It forms a serpent. And as it does this, is changes colors. It starts as a drop, a red speck, but then it spreads, like blood through water, and soon the whole creature is a grotesque monster, curling around itself, with long fangs and piercing eyes. And we're heading right towards it.

"I'll kill it, don't worry!" and Brillig runs towards it. The monster moves quickly, veering around her, and swallows Frabjous.

"Frabjous!" I scream. And I watch as the teeth rip through my friend, his frozen face with a fang through it, his limbs ripped off. He looks almost like a doll, my dead friend does. The monster's body seems to grow darker, more solid, fueled by the blood of Frabjous. Then by Bander, who is the next to be consumed. Then, it gets Alice. At least Bander wasn't there for that.

I am in shock. Alice can't be gone. She was...Alice! I didn't have much time to contemplate this, or mourn for my friends, however, because from the way this monster was looking at me, I could tell I was next. And as it shoots towards me, I think of how at least some of my friends were safe, the ones who chose to stay with Pudge.

"No more!" I hear someone shout. Suddenly, right before the monster reaches me, it stops. I can see Brillig, standing triumphantly on it's back, with a knife stuck through it. This only lasts for a second, before a wave of blood washes over me. The blood of Frabjous, Bander, and Alice. All that's left is some puddles of clear water, that seem to be making sounds like laughter. This giggling water, that killed my friends. I look around. The teachers have disappeared. Possibly eaten when I didn't see, possibly they made a run for it. The only ones left are Mome, Snacky, Vorpal, Brillig, Tulgey, Uffish, Callooh, and me. We were going to have to finish this journey on our own. I pick up Callooh, the only one dry and not soaked with blood, and start walking towards the others.


	13. Chapter 13

I realize my one reader might be having some confusion, so I will clarify. Jubjub is the one who has been narrating, and the other surviving characters are Mome, Snacky, Vorpal, Brillig, Tulgey, Uffish, and of course, Callooh. Hope this helps! Also, i don't own anything, not Alice in Wonderland, the Giver, or Hunger Games, from which I took the birds :)

Lastly, to my one reader, look at the description of the birds, they match that of Pudge. Oh, and don't take that offensively!

* * *

We walk on, deeper and deeper inwards, numb now to the outside world. Everyone I've known and loved is dead or gone. There is nothing more to lose. Only Vorpal is still intent on getting to the upperworld. The rest of us follow him blindly.

I barely notice the deaths that follow. When was it again that Tulgey was decapitated by a creature made of vines and knives, that wrapped around a person, cutting them to bits? And did Snacky really smell a flower full of toxic perfume, blinding him instantly, later making him suffocate? Uffish was devoured by a creature who was in the shape of Alice, until Uffish got close enough to be eaten alive. Mome went mad from his longing for Mimsy and hurled himself off a steep slope, being cut by jagged rocks on the way down. When these deaths occurred, all we did was sidestep the gruesome carnage, and continue our march on this trail of tears.

Our lack of feeling ends suddenly one day. Callooh had been crying nonstop since the day with the giggling water, so we paid no attention when he started bawling as we entered a patch of forest that seems almost golden. The birds start singing once we're deeper in. They have light lavender feathers, deep blue sparkling eyes, and long, slender, metallic silver beaks. These birds were small, the size of my hand maybe, and graceful. They sparkled, and practically glowed. But when they sung... I heard Tumtum calling. She was screaming my name. She needed my help.

"Pudge isn't good! She started using us as slaves once you left! Help me Jubjub help me, we're going to die!" She screamed, a haunting scream, that kept going. Frabjous and Banders' voices soon joined in the screaming. They were all calling. Bander, screaming when he learns of Alice's death, imagining her being ripped to pieces, Frabjous, seeing his limbs torn off. I try to find them, but they're everywhere, nowhere, too far, too high, too deep. I crash into Brillig, who had been looking for Gyre, trying to get to him before he was eaten by the monster. I look around, then realize it wasn't real. It was the birds. Callooh was crying no more than usual. Vorpal was also looking for Tumtum, but he seemed to be realizing the futility of it as well. But then, I look to thank Brillig for knocking me over, but she's gone. I hear screaming in the distance. Brillig was being eaten by the birds. But it seemed she had been gone before that. She had kept it to herself, but she had been ridden with guilt, that she hadn't slain the monsters along the way faster, she hadn't saved lives. And now it's only Vorpal, Callooh, and I, alone on our quest to the upperworld, carrying with us the pain of the others.


	14. Chapter 14

This will probably be one of the last few chapters, with so few people still alive :) Enjoy, and review!

* * *

After the birds, we all felt the loss of our friends more than ever. I knew that Tumtum was dead, like everyone else, so it really was only Callooh, Vorpal, and I. And I was scared. Vorpal couldn't be trusted, of this I was sure. But now that we knew what had happened to those at Pudges, we were even more powered to reach the upper world, knowing that we were all that was left. We moved through different parts of forest, trying to avoid strange looking places. But eventually we realized that in order to get to the center of the forest, we had to go through a patch of strange woods. The trees were everywhere, thick, bending trees, that had a soft coat of fur on them, like Cheshire cat had had. They changed colors, depending on the time of day, often making us dizzy when the changes were fast. There were warm colors during the day, and cold colors at night, in general. Callooh rarely cried, and when he did, we found our way away from danger using a hot or cold method, where Callooh's cry meant cold. But once again, we found that we had to enter danger, to move farther into the forest. The deeper we moved in, the darker and stiffer the tree's seemed to turn. But they would flash bright colors occasionally, temporarily blinding us. Vorpal had taken to walking behind us, saying he would make sure nothing attacked from behind, but really I think it was for protection. He had started this after stepping in grass that started to pull him underground, that I had barely managed to drag him out of. His location in line didn't pay off for him, however.

Callooh had been crying for quite some time, but when he started pulling at my hair, I got the message that something was wrong. I tried to turn around and find another path, but when I turned around, Vorpal wasn't there, he was on the other side of me, which looked like where we'd come from. This was impossible, and I started panicking. I couldn't remember what I was doing, rocks switched places, I jumped to fall, I could only walk on my knees, the tree's were under the ground and so were we. Then the world went upsidedown. Vorpal fell onto the path as I rose up and up. I was heading towards a black cloud, and I knew if I reached it, I would never come out.

"Vorpal help!" I yelled over the wind. He could still reach me, if he just came closer. But instead, he just smirked.

"Why would I put myself in danger, when it's clear that if I go the other way on this path, I will be heading towards the center of the forest, to the upperworld? I wouldn't even go back for Tumtum." He starts walking the other way, but when he does, gravity reverses. I fall to the ground, and he is flipped into the sky, right into the black cloud. A shower of blood rains down on Callooh and I. We make a run for it, along the path, away from where the cloud had been, and toward the center of the forest. We're almost there, I can feel it!


	15. Chapter 15

FINALLY DONE! YAY! enjoy pudge + one other! please review :D

* * *

Just Callooh and I, wandering the forest, by ourselves, with no one to guide us. We're hungry and thirsty, and we've almost been eaten, drowned, stabbed, mutilated, and strangleed many times. I'm exhausted, and broken down. I only keep going for Callooh. He wants to reach the upperworld with all his heart. So we keep moving inward. The forest is so thick here that we have to squeeze between the trees, watching for bark that looks poisoness to the touch. We walk through the last of the trees, and I'm hoping to see a ladder, but what I see next scares me more than any monster. It's my old school. Where Bander, Tumtum, Frabjous, and all of us used to live. Before we had left on this deadly voyage. This whole time...we'd just made a circle! I almost cry, but then the ground starts to shake. I scream when a tree next to me goes up in flames, and the ground breaks. Callooh and I fall and cling to each other.

"You are near your destination." The ground is speaking, no, the whole forest is. "But before I let you leave me, and go upwards, I need something. One of you must die for the other to proceed. Die and have your soul remain with me for all of eternity." I look at Callooh, and he looks so scared...I could overtake him, but he has a life ahead of him. Mine has been left dead behind me.  
"Take me." I say. Callooh looks at me, close to tears, then hugs me  
"Thank you." he whispers. When did he grow up? I walk towards the huge valley in the rocks, the forest's mouth, and leap in, thinking only of my friends, who I will see again soon.

Callooh (Gabe) POV

After Jubjub leaves, a light appears. I walk into it. I come out in a bright, barren plain. I look around, squinting, and see a familiar boy, who gave me the gift of color, so long ago. He recognizes me, and runs towards me!

"Gabe?" Jonah questions.  
"Callooh!"


End file.
